US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to escalate sanctions against Moscow after Russia unleashed its largest aerial assault yet on Ukraine, vowing that a coordinated economic offensive by Washington and Europe could push Russia’s economy into “full collapse.”
Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One on September 7, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.(AFP)
The Kremlin’s barrage of missiles and drones on Sunday killed at least four people and set ablaze Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers building in central Kyiv — the first time the sprawling government complex has been hit in the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Emergency services reported damage to high-rise buildings and dozens wounded, including a pregnant woman who delivered a premature baby shortly after the attack.
“This is a deliberate crime,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a video message from inside the damaged complex. “We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has appealed for a “strong US response,” said in his nightly address that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “testing the world.” He spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who pledged defense assistance, while other European leaders denounced Moscow’s tactics as “cowardly” and “mocking diplomacy.”
Trump’s ‘phase two’ warning
Speaking outside the White House hours after the Kyiv strikes, Trump said he was prepared to move forward with what he called the “second phase” of sanctions on Russia.
“The US and the EU can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil — the Russian economy will be in full collapse and that will bring President Putin to the table,” Trump told reporters.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that message in an interview with NBC, warning that Russia’s finances would not withstand a synchronized Western economic crackdown. He revealed that Trump and Vice President JD Vance held a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday to explore options.
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Europe weighs troops, Russia digs in
The strikes came just days after more than two dozen European countries pledged to oversee any eventual peace deal, with some signaling willingness to send troops to Ukraine — a red line for Putin, who warned that any Western presence on the battlefield would be treated as a legitimate target.
Despite Trump’s attempts to broker talks, little progress has been made. Russia continues grinding offensives across Ukraine’s east and south, and now controls around 20 percent of the country. The war, Europe’s bloodiest since World War II, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
“The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives — human or animal — every single day,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry posted on X, noting that seven horses were among the casualties of Russia’s weekend attacks.